Pokes defeat Rainbow Warriors in overtime

On Hawai’i’s opening drive they were able to convert on an early third down but were stopped on the following third down thanks to a sack by defensive end Carl Granderson.
Wyoming moved the ball for a first down after also converting on a third down but were unable to gain another first down following a dropped pass.
Wyoming was able to force a three and out leading to a Hawai’i punt.
Thanks to a late hit out of bounds Wyoming was able to start on the Hawai’i 48-yard line but Wyoming was unable to gain a first down. The punt team was able to pin Hawai’i on their own 4-yard line thanks to a great punt by Tim Zaleski.
Wyoming had Hawai’i on a third and long but a 17-yard pass by quarterback Dru Brown to receiver John Ursua gave the Rainbow Warriors a first down. Hawai’i would drive down the field to the Wyoming 39-yard line. The Wyoming defense would hold strong stopping the Rainbow Warriors on a fourth and five, giving the ball back to the Cowboy offense.
Both teams remained scoreless in the first quarter.
Quarterback Josh Allen opened up the second quarter with a three-yard QB sneak. Wyoming faced a third and eleven but Allen found tight end Tyree Mayfield for a first down. The following play running back Trey Woods found a crease and run for a 34-yard touchdown. This was Woods first career rushing touchdown. Kicker Cooper Rothe then made the extra point.
Wyoming took the ball 61 yards in seven plays. They only used two minutes and fifteen seconds off the clock.
Hawai’i found their run game on the following drive. Wyoming forced a fourth and short but Hawai’i was able to convert thanks to an 11-yard rush by running back Ryan Tuiasoa. Seven plays later Hawai’i would once again be faced with a fourth down this time from the Wyoming one-yard line. Tuiasoa would find the end zone scoring the touchdown. Hawai’i kicker Alex Trifonovich would make the PAT (point after touchdown.)
Hawai’i used 13 plays to 75 yards in seven and a half minutes.
Wyoming looked to have a drive going following a 22-yard rush by Josh Allen. However, a pass interference on Wyoming pushed them back 15 yards then on the following play Allen was sacked for a nine yard loss. Wyoming was faced with a third and 34. The Cowboys gained 18 yards on a pass to John Okwoli but it was not enough. Wyoming punted the ball pinning the Rainbow Warriors on their own 10-yard line.
Hawai’i gained a first down but a holding call pushed them back. This led to a third and 15 from their own 17-yard line. The Cowboy defense forced fourth down on the Hawai’i 20-yard line. Hawai’i was forced to punt.
On the punt, Hawai’i would commit an illegal hands to the face penalty moving the Cowboys starting position to the Hawai’i 48-yard line.
Allen threw two incompletions to end the half, Wyoming was unable to get into field goal range.
At halftime Wyoming had 111 yards of total offense with 64 being on the ground and 47 through the air. There were a few dropped passes through out the half. Woods led the way in rushing with 43 yards on five attempts, one of those attempts being the 34-yard touchdown. John Okwoli lead the Cowboy receivers with 2 catches for 21 yards, the longest being for 18 yards.
Hawai’i was able to put up 177 offensive yards. Hawai’i rushed for 81 yards and gained 96 yards through the air. Diocemy Saint Juste led the Rainbow Warriors on the ground with 13 rushes for 55 yards with the longest rush being 13 yards. On receiving, John Ursua was the main target. He caught three passes for 29 yards, the longest being a 17-yard gain.
Wyoming received the ball to start the second half.
The Wyoming offense opened up with a three and out.
Hawai’i drove deep in to Wyoming territory. A 15-yard penalty put Hawai’i in striking distance. The Cowboys defense forced a third and 19 but the Warriors converted and got the ball to the Wyoming 7-yard line thanks to a 23-yard pass from Brown to Dylan Collie. On the following play Brown would be intercepted by Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard.
Wingard would return the ball 22 yards. After the play Hawai’i committed a late hit out of bounds adding 15 yards that were added to the return. This was the first turnover of the game.
This was Wingard’s fifth career interception and his second on the season.
Wyoming started with the ball on their own 39-yard line but were unable to convert on the third down and were forced to punt the ball. Zaleski would punt the ball to the 11-yard line, no return on the punt.
The Rainbow Warriors drove down the field and got to the Wyoming six-yard line. Wyoming defense stepped up on third and goal stopping Hawai’i forcing a field goal. On the field goal kick a Wyoming defensive back Tyler Hall got called for roughing the kicker leading to an automatic first down on the Wyoming five-yard line. On the next play Diocemy Saint Juste rushed the ball for a touchdown from five yards out. The PAT was good by Trifonovitch.
Hawai’i took the ball 89 yards in just under nine minutes on 13 plays.
It took Wyoming just 15 seconds to answer back with a touchdown of their own. Cornerback Tyler Hall took the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. This is Wyoming’s first kick off returned for a touchdown since Devin Moore in 2007 against rival CSU.
After the game, Hall said following his penalty allowing Hawai’i to score, he wanted to make it up to his teammates and a kick return was his best chance to do so.
At the end of the third quarter the game was tied once again at 14 points each.
Hawai’i started with the ball in the fourth quarter. The Cowboy defense forced a three and out giving the ball back to the offense on their own 14-yard line.
Wyoming staged a five-play scoring drive. They covered 86 yards in 1:46. Trey Woods opened up the drive with a 59-yard run down to the Wyoming/Hawai’i 16-yard line. This gave Woods his first 100-yard rushing game. Three plays later, Austin Conway took the ball on a sweep to the outside for a touchdown from 3 yards out. This is his first rushing touchdown of the year and second of his career. Rothe made the PAT.
Hawai’i would answer back with a touchdown of their own. The Rainbow Warriors drove the ball to midfield. From there Brown found John Ursua for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Trifonovich was able to make the PAT. The drive went 89 yards in 3:35 in seven plays. Hawai’i tied the game back up at 21 with eight minutes to go in the game.
Wyoming slowly drove down the field with multiple handoffs to Trey Woods. Wyoming faced a fourth and one on the Hawai’i 39-yard line. Allen dove ahead to convert on the fourth down. Cowboys moved down to the 30-yard line where Cooper Rothe came on for a 47-yard field goal. Rothe missed just wide left.
Hawai’i got the ball back with 3:46 left.
Hawai’i moved it for a first down but following that Wyoming defense comes up with big stops. On first down, Andrew Wingard hit a receiver causing an incomplete pass. On third down, Garrett Crall tackled the quarterback on the option keeper forcing a Hawai’i punt.
Austin Conway was able to return the ball 37 yards on a 47-yard punt. Conway returned the ball on the Wyoming 42-yard line. Giving the ball back to the Cowboy offense with just over a minute left to play. Allen would be sacked on the first play of the drive. Following an incomplete pass, running back Nico Evans rushed for a 4-yard gain. Wyoming then punted the ball back to Hawai’i.
Hawai’i started the drive with the ball on their own 26-yard line, 38 seconds left to play. The Rainbow Warriors ran the ball, taking the game to overtime.
For the overtime coin toss, Hawai’i won the toss and elected to play defense first. Wyoming chose to play on the northside of the field heading to the same end zone Wyoming won the triple overtime thriller a year ago against Northern Illinois University.
Wyoming decided to go for the touchdown of the very first play of overtime. Off of a play action pass Josh Allen was able to roll out to the right and find wide receiver James Price in the end zone for a touchdown. Price was able to get a step on the defender allowing Allen to float the pass over the top for a 25-yard touchdown pass. This ended up being the game winning score.
This was Price’s first game back this season and his very first catch of the season. Price received a broken collar bone during fall camp, causing him to miss the first three games.
Rothe would make the PAT.
Offense took care of business on their end now it was up to the defense to make a stop.
On the first play for Hawai’i they got the ball off to Saint Juste for a ten-yard gain. On the next play Dru Brown attempted to pass the ball out to the left on a quick out route. Defensive end Garrett Crall deflected the pass up in the air, allowing weak side linebacker Cassh Maluia to come in and intercept the ball ending the game giving Wyoming the seven-point victory.
Following the game Coach Bohl said he was excited to win. Wyoming did not play their best football but were still able to come away with a victory. Bohl also expressed his pleasure with being able to run the ball this game, especially with true freshman, Trey Woods running for over 100 yards.
Wyoming was able to rush the ball for 177 yards on 29 attempts. Trey Woods led the Cowboys with 135 yards on 15 attempts. Woods rushed for an average nine yards per rush aided by long rushes of 59 yards and the 34-yard touchdown rush.
Josh Allen passed for 92 yards going 9-19 for a 47 percent completion rating. Allen’s longest pass completion of the day was the 25-yard touchdown pass that won the game for the Cowboys.
Tyree Mayfield led the Cowboys in receptions and yards, catching two passes for 27 yards. James Price had the second most receiving yards with the 25-yard touchdown reception.
Overall, the Cowboys gained 269 yards of total offense. The offense did not have any turnovers on the day.
Defensively, the Cowboys gave up 170 yards on the ground to a team that has averaged 230 yards rushing. Saint Juste led the Rainbow Warriors rushing attack with 124 yards rushing on 26 attempts. Saint Juste also had one rushing touchdown on the day.
Dru Brown led the Hawai’i passing attack with 280 yards on 29-40 and a touchdown of 50 yards for his longest pass.
John Ursua led the Warriors with a game high of eight receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. His longest reception being the 50-yard touchdown strike.
Both teams had two sacks on the day, but Wyoming was able to force two turnovers.
Both turnovers were interceptions. The first was by Andrew Wingard and the second was the game winning interception by Cassh Maluia.
Logan Wilson lead the Cowboy defense with 14 total tackles, seven solo and seven assisted. Right behind him was Andrew Wingard with nine total tackles, six solo and three assisted. Defensive linemen Carl Granderson and Youhanna Ghaifan each had a sack.
Both teams are now 2-2 on the season but Wyoming is now 1-0 in conference play.
The Cowboys will be back in action next week when they host Texas State at 2 p.m. Saturday.